OMIGOSH… SUMMER IS ALMOST (OFFICIALLY) OVER!!!!

 

Okay, it's official, three more weeks until Autumn begins. Where has the summer gone?

 

Sunrise, sunset,
Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days.

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as we gaze.

Sunrise, sunset,
Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly fly the years,
One season following another,
Laden with happiness and tears.

 

This song (from Fiddler on the Roof) is often sung at weddings when parents marvel at how fast their children have grown. But these specific lyrics keep running through my head as I look back on how fast the seasons change.

 

Okay to be honest my summer was a bit of a bummer anyway, starting with my sister's passing and then my recuperating from a nasty cold and cough (yes, I am vaccinated and still took a Covid test — negative thank goodness!). For both reasons I never even got to go swimming this year  😢 (yes, all things considered, that is a minor loss…).

 

It seems like soooooo loooong ago that we were all carefree WITHOUT the need of masks or vaccinations; and while 2020 certainly did drag on unbearably I look at all my loved ones and see how many years have passed so quickly.

 

In my mind I can still see my children as adorable babies who clung to me and begged to be carried everywhere. And now I look at my fully grown ADULT offspring and see them as wise and decent human beings with responsible jobs, loving life partners, capable of taking care of themselves and others, and sometimes even taking care of their OLD parents. They grew up so fast!

 

The seasons just keep rushing by!

Next week is Rosh Hashanah… it is so early this year (in the Gregorian calendar). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, it is time to reflect on all that has gone before and all that we look forward to. It is a time for all of us to reflect on WHO we are and WHAT we have done, apologize (SINCERELY!) to those we have wronged, and forgive those who have wronged us. It is a new beginning, in a way. But even with a new beginning, there is no way to go back and steal some yesterdays to relive.

In such a period when we are encouraged to examine what we have done and possibly change what we should do, it is even more obvious how time has flown by.

 

It is just three weeks until the official end of summer…

 

Traditions ~ #MondayBlogs

Just hearing the word Tradition makes me see and hear Tevye and the Fiddler on the Roof song of the same name.

So what is tradition?

“A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group orsociety with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past…The English word "tradition"comes from the Latin traditio, the noun from the verb traderere or tradere (totransmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping).” 

We automatically assume that traditions are based in religious or cultural origins and perhaps that was the earliest intent. Traditions provided a form of stability knowing that “this is the way it’s always been done”. A set manner of doing things was handed down from generation to generation and of course there were little variances as each new generation interpreted the purpose as it fit into their current lives. Following tradition takes some of the hard decision making out of our hands, it helps point us in the direction we need to go.

Today the term tradition can refer to less-aged habits – the routine yearly family reunion, the regular candlelit anniversary dinner, the customary college graduation gift and more. Our reminiscences can make our traditions: Sitting and watching the Friday Night Fights with my dad as a child became a tradition; Vacationing at the Jersey shore every summer was a family tradition; and My mom hosting Thanksgiving dinner surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins was a tradition. Traditions are a way of holding on to something of the past, often it was something that “worked” or left us with warm memories.

“As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears.” 
~  John Locke

The beauty of our diverse society allows us to see many of our traditions melding together and sometimes forming new ones. We have a chance to learn from others and adapt. I recently heard someone quip about a cultural event (from another culture) as “not traditional”. I laughed. Our comfortable traditions that we grew up with aren’t traditional for other cultures either, it’s like who really is speaking with an accent, it all depends on who is listening.

If you ever have the opportunity to attend an inter-faith ceremony, go to it; you will get to see an exquisite demonstration of blended traditions — and in the end, it all still works out for the best.

Changes ~ #MondayBlogs

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears
(from Fiddler on the Roof)

Life seems to change so rapidly, every day presents new experiences and opportunities. Our married daughter and her husband moved out-of-state last year (not far thankfully), our son is getting married the end of this year, and hubby and I (AND the cats) are thinking of downsizing.

Yikes, to think of packing up a home that we’ve been in for more than three decades is monumental! And yet despite my aversion to cleaning, throwing out the excess, and packing dozens of boxes, the thought of moving on with my husband of nearly 40-years is attractive. I’m entertaining myself with dreams of having an idyllic empty-nester dream home. I admit there is more than a bit of sentimentality about the idea of leaving this home where we raised our family…

Right now it’s a dream, a vision, a plan, but it is definitely one we are heading towards with no specific timetable. Just one of the adventures we look forward to in this ever-changing world.